My definition is apparently 'Most things except for art'

I've always believed that art was something that made you feel emotions. Music is art. Books are art. Video games are art. Oddly, the only thing I was never sure was "art" under my definition is actual fine art like paintings and such.

So I guess the other thing about art is that it takes creativity to produce. Arithmetic is not art. Anyone could get that 2+2=4 (and anyone who doesn't is wrong), but developing a mathematical proof? That's art. That involves delicately weaving ideas through facts and melding assumptions and hypotheses into a unified concept, one that's solid and can stand the test of time. "Mathematics is the poetry of logical ideas."

Along this similar line, it's always baffled me how video games being art is even a debate. Even more so with the idea of "Can a video game make you cry?" Well duh it can. I can list 5 examples off the top of my head (Professor Layton, Crisis Core, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy VIII, Mother 3). Existentials are always really easy to prove. You just need one example and bam, the question of "Does a video game exist that can make you cry?" is proven true. Yes, there are some games that are very straight-forward (Move left, jump on baddies), and there are many, many games that involve characters with in-depth motivations and personalities going through an involved plot in a carefully constructed setting. I fail to see any difference between that and a novel, except for the beauty of interactivity allowing the player to contribute to shaping the story.

The fact is that fine art such as drawings and paintings and sculptures does require creativity. You have to take something from within yourself and shape it into something real and that makes it art. To be honest, though, it's never really called to me. My only reaction to museums has been an overwhelming desire to find where they're selling food and then to be offended by the exorbitant prices they're selling it for. I've been to a notable amount of art museums and I cannot tell you a single thing that has interested me. The only thing that even comes close is that one giant Lego city in that one dive bar in the Florida Keys. That was fascinating and engaging and told a story. Several stories, really, and one of which involved Harry Potter fighting Godzilla. To me, art needs to make me feel something, and even though a sculpture has never made me feel anything (aside from technically impressed), there are obviously people who feel that way. That is enough to make it art even if it isn't in my own personal little world.

In sum, I think pretty much anything can be art if it requires creativity and if it means things to people (preferably people other than the creator, but I guess not necessarily). I feel like programming is art. Not just design but taking characters and grouping them together into commands that, when compiled, produce an actual working application...that couldn't be more beautiful to me. Someone else might disagree, but I feel like the fact that anyone really believes that something is art means it is.

That said, where are my video game museums?